Neuroethics Student Selected as Congressional Research Intern

The Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy and Department of Philosophy are pleased to announce that Joe DeFranco (class of 2019) has been accepted as a congressional research intern in the office of U.S. Representative Don Beyer. Congressman Beyer sits on the Congressional Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Congressional Subcommittee on Research and Technology. Mr. DeFranco will be assisting Congressman Beyer's office in these efforts.

Mr. DeFranco is a Fellow in the Department of Philosophy's Global Health Fellows program, and a neuroethics student supervised by Professor Andrew Peterson. He was recently awarded a competitive OSCAR scholarship for his research project on national disparities in the diagnosis of brain death. Mr. DeFranco is pursuing a bachelors degree in neuroscience, but is interested in the distinctive ethical and policy issues related to medical science. "My intended career path is in health or science policy" says DeFranco. "As a neuroscience major at George Mason, with my background mostly in sciences and lab research, I wanted experience working on the Hill and with legislation. My internship with Congressmen Beyer's office will be ideal for testing my scientific and philosophical knowledge."